Box stuck on Loading

Strange things are afoot. Both my parents and I have old talktalk Youview boxes and we are both currently Plusnet customers.

Within the space of a week both our boxes have stopped working. When you switch on the box stays in loading mode for hours before it shuts down.

I have tried all the factory resets in the 'secret menu' but nothing happens but loading, loading and more loading!

It almost feels like talktalk have sent a code through to block the boxes working on any other provider. Let's hope not, there is enough electrical junk about without stopping perfectly good boxes in working order.

But to address your other point, no, TalkTalk don’t stop your box working with other ISPs.

If either box was previously a TalkTalk subscription box, though, it will decline to play old recordings of subscription-only programmes, or action TalkTalk boosts, when it can’t get a legit response form a TalkTalk server you are no longer on. But none of these things should stop it even loading up.

The symptoms you have are consistent with a box that can no longer access the Internet, whether due to some external factor, or to internal box failure.

If a laptop with its WiFi turned off, and hung on the YouView end of the Ethernet cable from the router to the box, can reach the internet, the problem is internal; if it can’t, the problem is external, and you should look at your router, any PLAs you may have, and the Ethernet cables involved.

“Where’s ‘Jump to Time’ then? And all that other OldGen good stuff we were promised back, including the proper ‘Hide Channels’ and so on?” (Excerpt from ‘One Billboard Outside YouView Towers’, not coming soon to a box near you)

My laptop does indeed use an ethernet cable to connect and its fine. Does that mean my box has departed this mortal coil? @Sarah

An Ethernet cable, sure, but not the Ethernet cable the YouView box is on.

We are trying to eliminate this cable as the source of the issue; it probably isn’t, but you need to hang the laptop on it, and see the internet OK, and that the laptop is truly working over the cable and not by WiFi, to be sure of this.

“Where’s ‘Jump to Time’ then? And all that other OldGen good stuff we were promised back, including the proper ‘Hide Channels’ and so on?” (Excerpt from ‘One Billboard Outside YouView Towers’, not coming soon to a box near you)